Trump's Dubious Helicopter Tale: Claims, Denials, and Legal Threats

[Social Media]

 

Former President Donald J. Trump once again found himself at the center of controversy as he insisted that he had been involved in a dangerous helicopter landing alongside Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco. Trump claimed he possessed records to substantiate his assertion, despite Brown’s categorical denial of the event.

 

The former president’s comments were made during an impassioned phone call to a New York Times reporter. Trump, who had been forced to land his plane several hours away from his planned rally in Bozeman, Montana, due to a mechanical issue, was furious over The Times' coverage of his news conference held the previous day at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence. During that conference, Trump recounted an emergency helicopter landing he claimed to have experienced with Willie Brown.

 

However, Willie Brown firmly denied ever having flown in a helicopter with Trump. The former mayor’s denial raised questions about the accuracy of Trump’s recollection, with some speculating that the former president may have confused Willie Brown with Jerry Brown, the former governor of California. In 2018, Trump did indeed travel by helicopter with Jerry Brown while surveying wildfire damage in the state. But, according to Jerry Brown, there was no emergency landing during that trip, and no discussion took place concerning Vice President Kamala Harris.

 

Willie Brown, who had a personal relationship with Kamala Harris during the 1990s, was acquainted with Trump in a professional capacity during that period when Trump was a New York developer working on various projects. According to a biography of Harris titled "Kamala’s Way: An American Life," Trump once sent his private plane for Brown and Harris in 1994 to transport them from Boston to New York City.

 

Despite these past connections, Brown's denial of the helicopter incident did not deter Trump. On Friday, Trump doubled down on his claim, stating emphatically, “We have the flight records of the helicopter.” He further claimed that the helicopter had landed "in a field" and hinted at releasing the supposed flight records. At one point during the call, Trump threatened to sue over The New York Times article, exclaiming that he was “probably going to sue.”

 

When pressed by the reporter to produce the flight records, Trump mocked the request, repeating it in a sing-song voice. By early Friday evening, no records had been provided.

 

This episode is not the first time Trump has claimed to have evidence to back up his statements, only to fail to produce it. The helicopter story is one he has shared before, including in his 2023 book, "Letters to Trump," in which he published correspondence he had received from various individuals, including Willie Brown. In the book, Trump wrote, "We actually had an emergency landing in a helicopter together. It was a little scary for both of us, but thankfully we made it."

 

As the saga continues, questions about the veracity of Trump's helicopter story remain unanswered, with no flight records forthcoming and no corroboration from Willie Brown. Yet, as is often the case with Trump, the lack of evidence has done little to temper his conviction or his willingness to publicly double down on his claims. Whether or not the former president will follow through on his threat to sue remains to be seen, but for now, the disputed helicopter ride remains yet another chapter in the long list of controversies surrounding Donald J. Trump.

 

Credit: NYT  2024-08-12

 

 

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[Tug]

Trump just can’t admit he’s mistaken that’s another glaring flaw that should keep him away from the presidency.(among a host of other flaws and criminality)

[HappyExpat57]

I'm old enough to remember when Brian Williams was fired for telling porkies about a helicopter ride.

[Chomper Higgot]

He’s just weird, says weird stuff that is invariably a weird lie.

[herfiehandbag]

Bone spurs got caught up in the pedals?

[frank83628]

say you have trump derangement syndrome without saying you have trump derangement syndrome!

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

say you have trump derangement syndrome without saying you have trump derangement syndrome!

Easy.

 

There is no such thing, it doesn’t exist.

 

Next.

[placeholder]

I guess we all look alike’: Trump accused of mixing up Black politicians in helicopter story

Nate Holden, the former Los Angeles city council member and California state senator, said that he was on the helicopter ride with Donald Trump that was forced to make an emergency landing.
In an interview with Politico on Friday, Holden, who is now 95, referred to the former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, who Trump insisted was on the helicopter ride, saying: “Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco … I’m a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/10/trump-helicopter-ride-nate-holden-willie-brown

 

There's actually a later NY Times article that reports that it likely wasn't Willie Brown but Nate Holden.

 

 Yes, Trump Was in a Scary Helicopter Ride. But Not With That Politician.

There was a helicopter. It did make an emergency landing. But a former California lawmaker says Donald Trump has mixed up one Black lawmaker for another.

https://archive.ph/6OLB1

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12 by placeholder

[CallumWK]

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Yes, Trump Was in a Scary Helicopter Ride. But Not With That Politician.

There was a helicopter. It did make an emergency landing. But a former California lawmaker says Donald Trump has mixed up one Black lawmaker for another.

 

But weren't you one of those who claimed previously that it didn't happen at all?

[placeholder]

No.. And even if I were, how does that excuse Trump claiming that he was going to sue the NY Times and that he has evidence to support his story? More evidence of the mental degeneration of America's weirdest ever President.

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, placeholder said:

how does that excuse Trump claiming that he was going to sue the NY Times and that he has evidence to support his story?

 

You just confirmed the story is realm, just a small detail about the name of 1 person involved isn't correct, and the woke media think to score with that.

You better get used to it, that mud slinging doesn't stick.

Better concentrate yourself on the detail why the most unpopular VP ever, who couldn't score even a single delegate in her 2020 run, suddenly becomes America's idol.

Hint, again the woke media, and you step into it with both your feet

[placeholder]

Just now, CallumWK said:

 

You just confirmed the story is realm, just a small detail about the name of 1 person involved isn't correct, and the woke media think to score with that.

You better get used to it, that mud slinging doesn't stick.

Better concentrate yourself on the detail why the most unpopular VP ever, who couldn't score even a single delegate in her 2020 run, suddenly becomes America's idol.

Hint, again the woke media, and you step into it with both your feet

I guess in a way people have become inured to Trump's lying. I'm not talking about his confusion about the identity of the passenger. His weird mind has been in decline for some time. it's the fact that instead of acknowledging his mistake, he threatened to sue the NYT. You gotta love the way MAGA supporters rail about free speech but have no problem when billionaires abuse or threaten to abuse the legal system in order to stifle free speech.

 

As for why Harris has become so popular. It's a relative thing. Look who she's running against. Are you laboring under the belief that Donald Trump is regarded favorably by the majority of voters?

[CallumWK]

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

As for why Harris has become so popular. It's a relative thing. Look who she's running against. Are you laboring under the belief that Donald Trump is regarded favorably by the majority of voters?

 

A few weeks ago Harris was also on the ballot against the same republicans. The prizes are given at the finish, let's talk again in November.

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

A few weeks ago Harris was also on the ballot against the same republicans. The prizes are given at the finish, let's talk again in November.

I wasn't making a prediction. Just pointing out that Trump supporters don't seem to ever acknowledge  that Trump is not regarded favorably by the majority of Americans.

As for talking again in November...

Maybe you are one of those rare MAGA supporters who acknowledge that Trump was not robbed of his victory by a some sort of conspiracy.? And you acknowledge that Biden actually legitimately won the 2020 election?

[Nick Carter icp]

9 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I wasn't making a prediction. Just pointing out that Trump supporters don't seem to ever acknowledge  that Trump is not regarded favorably by the majority of Americans.

 

 

   Only the majority if postal opinions are included 

[placeholder]

24 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Only the majority if postal opinions are included 

Post election, the Trump campaign hired 2 teams of forensic experts to look for evidence of fraud, They found virtually none.

Given that Democrats were far more liable to take the threat posed by Covid seriously, and that Trump, weird ignoramus that he is, actually counseled his supporters not to vote by mail, it was inevitable the more mail-in votes  would be Democratic than Republican. 

[placeholder]

52 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

A few weeks ago Harris was also on the ballot against the same republicans. The prizes are given at the finish, let's talk again in November.

So, as far as election results go, it looks like you guiding principle is, heads I win, tails you lose.

[CallumWK]

8 hours ago, placeholder said:

Maybe you are one of those rare MAGA supporters who acknowledge that Trump was not robbed of his victory by a some sort of conspiracy.? And you acknowledge that Biden actually legitimately won the 2020 election?

 

I didn't predict any results, I only said, prizes are given at the finish. Which part of that is that you don't get.

Again you are making false accusations about what I posted, so you got nothing to bring to the discussion.

[CallumWK]

7 hours ago, placeholder said:

So, as far as election results go, it looks like you guiding principle is, heads I win, tails you lose.

 

I didn't predict any results, I only said, prizes are given at the finish. Which part of that is that you don't get.

Again you are making false accusations about what I posted, so you got nothing to bring to the discussion.

[Social Media]

Reported off topic baiting posts and a troll post removed. 

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, CallumWK said:

 

I didn't predict any results, I only said, prizes are given at the finish. Which part of that is that you don't get.

Again you are making false accusations about what I posted, so you got nothing to bring to the discussion.

What falsehoods did I make? I didn't state anything about where you stood as a fact, only a probability.

[jerrymahoney]

Willie Brown threatens to sue Trump over helicopter ride story

August 16, 2024 / 9:42 PM EDT / CBS News

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown warned he may consider legal action against former President Donald Trump over a story he recently told about almost crashing in a helicopter with Brown. 

 

In an interview this week with CBS News, Brown said that he has never been in a helicopter with Trump and threatened to sue the former President because "somebody has got to make sure that he stops lying." 

 

"If he keeps it up, at some point, I'm going to give him a taste of his own conduct," Brown said. "If he sues The New York Times for printing that I said he lied, I'm going to sue him." 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/willie-brown-donald-trump-helicopter-kamala-harris/

[Stocky]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:38 AM, CallumWK said:

just a small detail about the name of 1 person involved isn't correct, and the woke media think to score with that

Hardly a small detail, considering the person he claimed was in the helicopter was a former partner of Kamala Harris and he used this supposed incident to suggest "he told me terrible things about her."  When you remove Willie Brown from the story then there could have been no conversation about Kamala Harris. He's just lying.

 

As Trump's former security advisor John Bolton said 

 

“It’s not that he lies a lot because to lie, you have to do it consciously. He just can’t tell the difference. So he makes up what he wants to say at any given time. If it happens to comport with what everybody else sees—well, that’s fine. And if it doesn’t comport with anybody else, he doesn’t really care and he’s had decades of getting away with it. So in his mind, the truth is whatever he wants it to be.”

 

https://newrepublic.com/post/184721/john-bolton-donald-trump-mental-health-reality

[candide]

Trump has always been talking B.S., but now that he's getting old, he's completely losing his mind.

[herfiehandbag]

I understand that there are moves afoot to put three statues up in front of the White House.

 

One of George Washington - he never told a lie.

 

One of Richard Nixon - he never told the truth.

 

One of Donald Trump - he could never tell the difference!

Edited August 18 by herfiehandbag

[gamb00ler]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:51 AM, CallumWK said:

 

A few weeks ago Harris was also on the ballot against the same republicans. The prizes are given at the finish, let's talk again in November.

Sure.... we can talk later.... but the problem is you, just like now, won't listen.

[josephbloggs]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:38 AM, CallumWK said:

 

You just confirmed the story is realm, just a small detail about the name of 1 person involved isn't correct, and the woke media think to score with that.

You better get used to it, that mud slinging doesn't stick.

Better concentrate yourself on the detail why the most unpopular VP ever, who couldn't score even a single delegate in her 2020 run, suddenly becomes America's idol.

Hint, again the woke media, and you step into it with both your feet

Those people are not laughing with you.....

 

[CallumWK]

46 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Those people are not laughing with you.....

 

 

Of course not, they are most likely Harris supporters, and have adapted to her appearance of laughing hyena.